Fall TV preview: ‘Back in the Game’ mixes ‘Bad News Bears,’ ‘Psych’s’ Maggie Lawson
It’s been quite a while since we’ve had a prime-time comedy the featured kids as some of the primary characters, and when it comes to just pure programming intelligence, it is pretty easy to see why the folks over at ABC wanted “Back in the Game” on their fall schedule. It reminds us a little bit of “A League of Their Own,” “The Sandlot,” and of course the “Bad News Bears” when it comes to classic baseball movies with some funny moments mixed in. It also has a pair of well-known actors on board.
Maggie Lawson, who is at the moment wrapping up work on what will likely be the final season of “Psych,” stars as a newly-divorced mom named Terry who not only tries to build a better relationship with her father, but coach a group of misfit kids in baseball who really don’t have a community anywhere else. The show looks to be ripe with some pretty funny moments, especially thanks to the producers casting a good group of kids.
We’re not so concerned with the show’s first batch of 13 or so episodes, since there should be enough stories with this group to satisfy that. Instead, we’re wondering what happens when you go beyond that. Are there enough stories to tell, and will all of the kids stay interesting as they get older? Casting kids is always challenging, especially when there are as many as there are in the pilot.
Scheduling-wise, though, this is the perfect show to follow another family comedy in “The Middle,” and with the right promotion, this should appeal especially to families with young boys, who have not been represented that well on network TV the past few years.
What’s your take on the trailer and is this a show you are looking forward to watching? This article is part of our Fall TV Preview series, and you can read more over at the link here.
Photo: ABC
Jake
June 7, 2013 @ 12:38 am
I am very excited for this show. Maggie is going to be absolutely great. Psych had to end and this is a great way for Maggie to be in something else. This show is going to be amazing. I will be watching and so will many other people. Maybe not the dude that goes and whines and complains about it everywhere though.
Marcos Rodríguez
May 28, 2013 @ 1:04 pm
I would rather watch paint dry, Maggie Lawson is so much better as Juliet O’Hara on Psych. I certainly will NOT be watching this. FYI she is not wrapping up her role on Psych she has already said that she is not leaving Psych, she’s doing both shows. Yes Psych is probably ending with season 8 but that’s besides the point. Maggie Lawson will always be Juliet O’Hara to me and i highly doubt that she will ever have such an amazing role like that again with such an amazing body of work, where she got to play everything from comedy to romance, to action and full blown serious drama. This new show and this new role is nothing compared to the role she had on Psych and i doubt it will last a full season. All i see is Juliet with a catchers mitt, playing opposite a washed up James Caan, who looks like a hobo. Thanks but no thanks.